Working in consultation with elders from the Spokane Tribe’s Language/Culture Program, Eastern Washington University’s newly opened residence hall has been named Snyamncut Hall (sen-yam-en-sut). The EWU board of trustees unanimously approved the residence hall name as a way to honor the legacy of the native Spokane people and to reinforce its active cultural influence in the area.

Snyamncut is the Spokane Salish word for place of gathering, with the connotation of it being a special place of emotional attachment – a place of the heart. Salish is a shared language with different diale...